A preview of Interesting things going on up, down and around the Parks and Drives. With the slowdown in the economy, our National Parks probably will see a pick up in visitations.So much to see and do and a lot of it free or at a very low cost.
Dear Traveler
This is the ninth issue of our events newsletter about things going on near the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. They are separated into 12 sections to match up with the map sections on our web site.
http://www.BlueRidgeSkyline.com
Starting with the Northern Section of the Skyline Drive including Winchester and Front Royal and working our way south to the Southern end near Cherokee NC and then on to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge Tenn.
You will see several . major events in some of the towns posted several months before the scheduled event. This is so you can make special plans early enough to make the trip work
Also there is a new Web Page for the 75th Anniversary of the Parkway
http://blueridgeparkway75.org This will occur next year 2010, plan to attend.
Winchester, Front Royal, Middletown and the Northern Section of the Skyline Drive.
Middletown
The Gin Game
Pulitzer Prize Drama By: D.L. Colburn
July 18 - August 15, 2009
A tale of old age and friendship, two kindred spirits play out their contentious relationship over a game of gin rummy in this touching and hilarious Pulitzer Prize winning drama. In their twilight years in a dilapidated retirement home, the pair befriends each other and over a game of cards reveals the intimate details of their lives, running the gamut from comic encounter to a poignant endgame of loneliness and frustration. (Thur, Fri, Sat @ 8:00 PM; Wed Sat, & Sun matinees @ 2:30 PM)
Performances at Wayside Theatre, 7853 Main Street, Middletown, VA
(540) 869-1776
7853 Main Street, Middletown
Wayside Theater website
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Front Royal
October 10,2009
Annual Festival of the Leaves This year marks the 39th year of the Warren Heritage Society's annual fundraiser, the Festival of Leaves. Please mark your calendars and plan on joining us on Saturday, October 10, 2009, 9am - 6pm. The Festival takes place in historic downtown Front Royal on Chester and Main Streets.
Our county's beauty is not alone in beckoning you this Fall. Her sons and daughters too await your company for a downtown party that has aged all too well since the Festival of Leaves first debuted in October 1971. Come enjoy Front Royal at its best. Arts and crafts abound on Main and Chester Streets in the heart of our historic district. Bluegrass, blues, country, jazz, big band and choir music entertain at the Town Gazebo, reenactments and short plays at the County Courthouse. Listeners may relax on the grass and soak up summer's last sunny warmth and autumn's first cool breezes. Come Enjoy the Heritage Area at the Warren Heritage Society's Balthis Green, located behind the Society's 101 Chester Street museums, where reenactors, craftspeople, apple butter makers and many others will bring back the traditions of the Valley. Run the 5K race or Fun Walk in the morning and finish in time for the parade!
See the Web Page for the Festival here
Harrisonburg and Luray section of the Skyline Drive
Harrisonburg
Rockingham County Fair
August 17-22, 2009
MONDAY, AUG. 17 - MOTOCROSS - 6:30 P.M.
TUESDAY, AUG. 18 - Antique, Farm & Tweaked Farm Tractor Pull featuring ProStreet 4WD Diesel Trucks and the Hot Rod Semis
WEDNESDAY, AUG 19 - JASON ALDEAN
THURSDAY, AUG. 20 - THE DOOBIE BROTHERS - 8:00 P.M.
FRIDAY, AUG. 21 - DEMOLITION DERBY - 8:00 P.M.
SATURDAY, AUG. 22 - LAWN MOWER RACING - 11:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.
EASTCOAST TRACTOR PULLERS - 7:00 P.M.
Fair Website here
Staunton and Waynesboro where the Skyline Drive and The Blue Ridge Parkway meet
Staunton
Guided Walking Tours of Historic Staunton
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library
24 North Coalter Street
Staunton, VA 24401
Discover Staunton, the Queen City of the Shenandoah Valley, on a free walking tour guided by Historic Staunton Foundation volunteers. Tours last 2 hours and trace Staunton's development from frontier settlement to booming 19th century commercial center. Stroll through four of Staunton's five Historic Districts as your guide describes the town's history and its beautifully restored architecture.
See dates of Walking Tours
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Staunton
FALL FOLIAGE BIKE FESTIVAL
OCTOBER 16-18, 2009
Great Event!
see the web site
Road condition information from the National Park Service
Skyline Drive
Blue Ridge Parkway
Lexington, Natural Bridge, Bedford and Buchannan sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway
Lexington
9th Annual Nothin' Fancy Bluegrass Festival
September 24,25 & 26
Glen Maury Park. 800-555-8845
Good music and good times for all!!
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Web Site of the D-Day Memorial
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BEDFORD
National D-Day Memorial
Imagine a place where the lessons and legacy of D-Day are remembered and preserved, a place where veterans of all ages are welcomed and honored, a place where visitors discover and recognize the worthy service of those who answer duty's call, a place where gravity and dignity are hallmarks. The National D-Day Memorial is such a place.
Deliberately sited to rise above the community that experienced this country's severest per capita losses on D-Day, the National D-Day Memorial reminds all who enter it of the heavy price that heartland communities have paid, and still pay, for freedom.
Web Page Here
Roanoke, Salem & Smith Mt. Lake
Roanoke
George Warner: "A Few Things I've Seen"
A Photographic Exhibition
July 30 - October 22, 2009
"Each person brings their own perspective to the universe. We see the same objects before us, but we have our own emotional response to them. Photography lets me capture the moment as I experienced it and share it with you, the viewer. If only for a moment, you see and feel what I saw and felt at that moment in time." This exhibit brings the visitor close to George Warner's eye for color and detail and gives insight into a world that has aesthetic value. Join us for the brightly colored lights and tones of this local photographer's vision.
See info at the O.Winston Link Museum
Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford, Wytheville and Floyd
Floyd
Seventh Annual New Works Exhibit at the Jacksonville Center
September
1st - 20th
The Jacksonville Center for the Arts is displaying work never shown in the Hayloft Gallery. Free, donations welcomed. Mon-Sat: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. & Sun: Noon-5 p.m. 220 Parkway Lane South (State Road 8 just south of downtown toward the Blue Ridge)
For more information: see web site here or 540-745-2784
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Ft Chiswell
Fort Chiswell Animal Park
569 Red Hollow Rd
Fort Chiswell, VA 24360
276-637-6754,
www.fortchiswellanimalpark.com
jt@fortchiswellanimalpark.com
Before Memorial Day- After Labor Day, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10am-6pm, Memorial Day thru Labor Day Open 7 days a week, Weekdays I-81/I-77 Exit 80 and turn away from Max Meadows onto 52 South. Follow approximately 2 1/2 miles, watch for Fort Chiswell High School on left, immediately past the high school turn Left on Red Hollow Road. The park is located about a mile down Red Hollow.
Bring the family and come on down! Cindy the Cappuchin Monkey lives in the petting zoo, where you can pet and feed goats, African crowned cranes, Bennett's wallabies and parrots. Hop on the Safari Bus go on an outback adventure where you'll meet a camel named Humphrey whose best friend is a zebra named Bindy, water buffalo, wildebeest,fallow deer, llamas and emus. Adults $10.00/ Children 2-12 $8.00 Under 2 Free
Galax Hillsville and Independence
GALAX
Rex Theater
Every Friday night in the City of Galax, Virginia WBRF 98.1 FM sends out 100,000 watts of live old-time and bluegrass music from the stage of the historic Rex Theater into five states and over the World Wide Web. Listeners may be in Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee or as far away as Egypt enjoying the traditional music show from the comfort of their homes, or they may be sitting back in one of the 475 seats at the Rex. The show is called Blue Ridge Back Roads and thanks to a faithful group of volunteers has become the cornerstone for the revitalization of this 70 year old theater.
Now owned and operated by the City of Galax, the Rex continues to expand its offerings with vintage movie nights, Saturday concerts and community plays. The Rex is also available for special events and many non-profit groups have found it's a great venue for community oriented fundraising.
With its important history, and current place as a popular destination on the Crooked Road, the Rex remains the jewel in the crown of the City of Galax.
Rex Events calendar here
Mt Airy, Sparta, Elkins and Wilkesboro NC
Sparta
Alleghany County Fair
Aug 24th-Sat Aug 29th.
Alleghany County Fairgrounds, HWY 21N, Sparta
The county fair gets underway on Monday with livestock competitions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The Carnival arrives on Thursday @ 6pm-10pm and Friday at 6pm-11pm and Saturday from 4pm-11pm. Lawn mower race Saturday at 5pm ends with fireworks display and winds up fair week.
Go Here
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Elkin
13th Annual Pumpkin Festival & 4th Annual Pumpkin Weigh-Off
Saturday, September 26, 2009 marks the date for the 13th Annual Pumpkin Festival to be held in Historic Downtown Elkin.
The festival brings more than 15,000 visitors to downtown Elkin to enjoy live entertainment, shopping, great food and gigantic pumpkins galore. The festivities begin Saturday morning with the 4th Annual Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off. at the former Smith Phillips Building Supply located at 257 Standard Street. There will be pumpkins from growers located all over the East Coast. Some will weigh-in at an excess of 1,000 lbs with hopes of placing in the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth top ten.
The Main Street of Elkin will be lined with vendors of every description featuring everything from funnel cakes to functional pottery, canned green beans to gourmet coffees, wood furnishings to wine racks, BBQ to baked goods, sand art to sunrooms, pumpkin butter to polish sausages, plus a variety of live entertainment and the ever-popular pie-eating contest sponsored by Yadkin Valley General Store.
Web Site Here
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Sparta
Appalachian Musical Instruments Exhibit
July 23rd-September 26
Sparta Teapot and Fine Arts Gallery, 18 S Main St, Sparta
Starting July 23 through September 26, the museum presents an exhibit of the variety of instruments made and used by Appalachain musicians. Free admission. Donations appreciated. For information phone 336-372-7238
Boone,Blowing Rock ,Jefferson and Banner Elk
Boone and Blowing Rock
Hank Williams: Lost Highway
by Randal Myler & Mark Harelik
August 21 - September 6, 2009
Blowing Rock Stage Company's 24th Season
$30 / $14
MUSICAL PORTRAIT OF A COUNTRY LEGENDS
This spectacular musical biography is a tender ode to the brash, pioneering country star who stands among the greatest innovators of American popular music.
The musical documents the singer-songwriter's rise from obscure hillbilly to Country-Western super-stardom to his early demise at age 29. An unforgettable tribute, Lost Highway highlights Williams' unique magic as a performer and the unbreakable spell of his haunting songs
See the Stage Company Web Site Here
Flat Rock, Henderson and Black Mountain
Flat Rock
July 1 - August 15
The Carl Sandburg Home and The Vagabond School of the Drama presents Abraham Lincoln & Rootabaga Stories, Wednesdays-Saturdays at 10:15AM, performances are free and held rain or shine, at the Carl Sandburg Home amphitheatre (no performances July 15-18) Flat Rock, NC
Web Page here
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Hendersonville
July 1 - August 14
Are Chairs Just for Sitting? Curated by Wayne Raab, The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, an exhibit focusing on Western North Carolina's rich history of furniture making and chairs being just one of the functions a furniture designer/maker might produce, Tues. - Sat. 1:00PM-5:00PM, Hendersonville, NC 828-890-2050
See the web page here
Asheville
Asheville
Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft & Traditional Art,
May 22, to Aug. 23 2009
an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, is intended to acquaint Americans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy. "Through this exhibit and the online and educational materials that we'll present, we want to introduce people in the South to master artists and craftspeople living and working in their own communities," said Gerri Combs, Executive Director of the Southern Arts Federation. "The incredible diversity of these individuals and the objects they create will give people a new window into the traditions of the South's many cultural communities and the vibrant contemporary craft movement in the region." Among the artists in the exhibit are six recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship, the country's highest honor for traditional artists. The combination of contemporary craft and traditional art in this exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to explore the "threads" between two different approaches to creating artwork, and also to compare the approaches of traditional and contemporary artists.
Time:
10:00 AM-05:00PM
Location:
Asheville Art Museum
2 So. Pack Square
Asheville , NC 28801
Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville,TN
Gatlinburg
34th Annual Fall Craftsmen's Fair
October 8th thru 25th, 2009
10am - 7 pm Daily
10am - 5 pm Sundays
Admission: Adults $6.00, children 12 and under, free
Colorful, breathtaking mountains, cool autumn freshness and the allure of nature's beauty. these are some very good reasons to visit the Great Smoky Mountains this fall. But if you need a little more coaxing, how about making plans to attend one of the Southeast's most popular events - the Gatlinburg Craftsmen's Fair at the Gatlinburg Convention Center!
Art, crafts and music lovers will find over 200 booths featuring some of the nation's finest work.
Artisans and craftspeople are on-hand to demonstrate their skill, answer questions and offer their unique art for sale.
Country & Bluegrass
music shows!
Web Page Here
Some special links to make your visit more worthwhile
2010 75th Anniversary Web Site of the Blue Ridge Parkway
Join us on an extraordinary journey through the stories of this remarkable route and the region through which it passes. Discover the opportunities the 75th Anniversary presents for us all!
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Chestnut Creek School of the Arts
Chestnut Creek School of Arts preserves and promotes the cultural heritage of southwest Virginia by fostering artistic and individual growth through classes in visual and performing arts, heritage and contemporary craft, and traditional music.
Visit the Web Site
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The Crooked Road
Craft
Virginia's Heritage Music Trail
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Friends of The Blue Ridge Parkway
Friends of The Blue Ridge Parkway web site
ODDS and ENDS Some interesting things
44 Presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama, morphed to music, Bolero by Revel
Here
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My Beautiful America, all 50 States
Here
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Cat Bowling... a game to drive you crazy!
Play it Here
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Whatever Happened to the old Westerns?Visit it here